Text as Visual Protest: Suckcess

I bought the book 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design this weekend at an adorable bookstore, Beautiful Pages, in Sydney. 

My Adobe CS skills are still very rough, but it's something I'm definitely drawn to -- one day I'll learn (I say that a lot, whether it's learning a language or programming, so TBD).

In the book, Idea #18 is "text to images," and it references Bob Dylan's music video, "Subterranean Homesick Blues."  I've seen it before.  It's even in a Google ad.

I just never realized it contained the cult image, "suckcess" (to be fair, I sometimes live under a rock).  Apparently, Dylan was a pioneer of using text as a form of visual protest.  

It's amazing how adding an extra letter to a word can make such a powerful statement. 

(Source: Wikicommons)

PS - Apparently Allen Ginsberg, father of the Beat generation, is in the background of the video

PPS - Here's more behind the meaning of this famous Dylan song.

PPPS - If you're interested in learning more about the history of graphic design, check this book out.  It's way easier to process than anything I've learned online.